Ghaziabad sailor dies in ‘accident’, family seeks Sushma Swaraj’s help

GHAZIABAD: A 28-year-old sailor from Vaishali in Ghaziabad died last Friday, allegedly in an accident, a little over a month after he signed a contract to serve on a merchant ship.
Sultan Ahmad’s family said they were informed by the Mumbai-based company that hired him, V R Maritime Services, about his death on November 3 but claimed they have since been given three different versions as to what caused Sultan’s death. Sultan’s younger brother Parvez has tweeted to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj for help, but was yet to receive a response at the time of writing this report on Monday.

The sailor’s family lives in Vaishali Sector 5. His father Vaheed runs a garment shop in the locality. The family said their last known location of Sultan was Boston (USA) and they had last spoken to him on October 26. They aren’t sure if the accident happened on the ship or when Sultan was on shore.

Parvez said, “My brother had told us he was posted at Boston. On Saturday (Nov 3), two officials from his company’s Delhi office came to our home and told us he and two other persons had died in an accident. They told us the leakage of poisonous gas caused the deaths. But next day, they changed their version and said a heavy object had fallen on them. They changed the statement once again and said he fell in a trench and died.”

Parvez said the company had not shared pictures or any other document, which could throw more light on what happened on the ship, with them. Sultan, the second among five siblings, had been working as an able seaman for a year, Parvez said, and had left for his latest posting on September 28. In the contract paper signed by Sultan, the joining port in mentioned as Arthur (USA).

“We are in touch with officials in Mumbai. They have told us they would visit us on Tuesday,” Parvez said. “We tweeted (to Sushma Swaraj) on Sunday, but are yet to get any reply. We are waiting for confirmation, and then we file a complaint with the suitable authority. They are also asking us not to get a post-mortem done,” Parvez said.

Captain Umesh Shetty of VR Maritime refused to comment when TOI reached out to him. “We will be meeting their family members on Tuesday. As of now, we are not giving any statement to the media,” he said.

Sultan was single and lived with his parents and siblings. His eldest brother works as a driver with a school in Ghaziabad. He completed his graduation through a correspondence course from a university in Meghalaya in 2012 and joined Dwarka-based Sriram Institute of Marine Studies, his family members said.

After completing the course, Sultan underwent training at different places, including Mumbai, for some time. “He could not immediately get a job and was unemployed for around two years. Around one and a half years back, he got a regular job,” Parvez said.

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